Family size

[BarbaraGordon]

Originally Posted by RedHeadGal

It probably is just that we can have more control, so we exercise it. It doesn't make sense to me that we are more selfish than before.

Exactly. A little bird the other day was suggesting that the outrage over the octuplet mother is rooted in jealousy and the facts that children are a "luxury," and that most of us would have more if we could figure out a way to pull it off, but that we're too selfish. Our indignation (allegedly arises from the fact that this woman was able to "cheat" the system by popping out eight at once.

That's baloney. If children were truly a luxury that most people can't afford, we'd see oodles of them among the affluent. Instead we see the opposite. As women (worldwide, really) become affluent enough to control their own reproduction, they do so by reducing the number of children they have.

I don't think the desire to curb family size is rooted in selfishness. It's rooted in simple practicality to some extent. How many kids can the house shelter? What's our food budget? And as Farrah's case indicates, in some situations it's actually rooted in selflessness. "I don't want to have too many kids because I want to be able to give each one all the time and attention she deserves." or "We want to be able to send each one to a good college." etc.

[BarbaraGordon]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

as usual I receiving the incoming artillery. My wife can say what she wants, in the way she wants to, and people can make their conclusions about it however they want. I'm just not going to make these kinds of private discussions (which are mischaracterized) fodder for the masses, no matter how satisfying some people find it.

heh.

I love trolling Mike. It's so easy.